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Stephenson Harwood advises lenders on $160m Allianz Marine transaction financing facility

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The Dubai office of law firm Stephenson Harwood advised the National Bank of Fujairah and Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) on the $160m leveraged buyout (LBO) financing facility provided to UAE-based investment bank Shuaa Capital for the acquisition of Allianz Marine and Logistics Services Holding Limited.

Shuaa Capital announced the acquisition of Allianz through its managed funds on Tuesday.

“The facility is one of the largest secured overnight funding rate (SOFR) based facilities of its size for an LBO transaction in the Middle East region, and is also one of the few corporate credit facilities in the Middle East with term SOFR as benchmark pricing,” the law firm said in a statement on June 16.

“As part of the transaction, Shuaa also procured for its managed fund a seven-year interest rate swap from the National Bank of Fujairah, opting to hedge the interest rate risk.”

Abu Dhabi-based Allianz operates approximately 117 owned and chartered OSVs in the Middle East, which comprises platform supply vessels (PSV), anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS), crew boats, and accommodation barges. It also provides vessel chartering, port logistics, and crew services to international and national oil companies and offshore construction contractors.

“The SOFR-based financing solution demonstrates our dynamism to quickly adapt to the evolving trends in the financing markets. We are also pleased to have secured the interest rate swap against the facility that provides us interest cost visibility and protection against rising rates,” said Jassim Alseddiqi, group ceo, Shuaa Capital, in the investment bank’s statement.

The Stephenson Harwood team was led by Dubai-based partner Nijoe Joseph, who was supported by associates Chinar Zaidi and Amulya Appalaraju.

According to the law firm, the transaction is one of the largest M&A deals to occur in the maritime offshore sector in the Middle East in recent years, and one of the largest in the offshore space globally. Shuaa is now understood to manage the largest portfolio of offshore supply vessels in the region, at 152 units, and the fourth-largest OSV fleet in the world.

“The transaction enables Shuaa to take advantage of the expected growth in the offshore oil and gas sector, building on its newly consolidated platform—which positions it as a market leader—and taking advantage of the fleet quality and strong ties to national and global oil majors,” the law firm said.